A Very LaMontagne Christmas
by RatherBeAWriter
Summary: A baby's first Christmas is a time to cherish. And even if there are a few hiccups along the way, JJ and Will won't forget their first December as a family of four. Festive sequel to Hopes and Fears.
1. Something Special to Hang by the Fire

**A/N: So, it is that time of year once again. As with last year, part of the reason for a very quiet November is that I have been planning a special Christmas project. Who's ready to count down to Christmas with the LaMontagnes?**

 **25 chapters; 25 interconnected moments of Georgia's first Christmas.**

 **If you haven't read Hopes and Fears all you need to know is that it was my take on JJ and Will having a baby after 200 and that Georgia was the result.**

 **I hope you like it and as always I love to know what you think :)**

* * *

 ** _1st December_**

Considering her friend's obvious skill with technology, JJ couldn't understand why Penelope insisted on shopping at the mall. Especially in December. As she pushed the stroller through the crowded atrium, scanning the flustered and overheated faces for her friend, she felt a little grateful that she had at least won her case for postponing the outing to miss the Black Friday rush.

"Over here!" shouted a voice.

JJ immediately became aware of a familiar figure pushing her way through the crowds, trailing several large shopping bags behind her. And yes, her earrings were adorned with enough tinsel to rival a Christmas tree.

"Hello, my little Christmas marshmallow," she gushed, leaning over the stroller and grinning at her goddaughter.

JJ laughed as her friend spent several moments cooing over Georgia before straightening up and rejoining the world of grown-up conversation.

"No Henry?" Garcia asked, a flicker of disappointment on her face.

"He's at a rehearsal for his school play," JJ replied. "But he asked me to tell you that you can pick him up at 10am next Saturday," she continued, quirking her eyebrows in a questioning look.

Penelope's grin told her she was correct in her theory that godmother and godson were plotting something, but it was also clear that she was going to give nothing away.

"Where do you want to go first?" she asked, changing the subject before JJ could commence a full blown interrogation. "There's a store that sells adorable elf onsies and I know they have Georgia's size in stock."

"Well I guess we'll start there," JJ agreed, knowing she had no real option, as Penelope linked arms with her and directed them towards the store.

"And then we should go to the toy store on the second storey. They have a limited number of Star Wars Lego sets left but if we're quick then we can get one for Jack… or would he prefer the dinosaur set?"

JJ laughed, listening to Garcia think out loud. It seemed that even if the shopping was to be done in the real world, there had been a serious amount of virtual planning beforehand.

/  
/

Two hours, and countless stores later, the two women had sought refuge in the relative sanctuary of a coffee shop. Although it was as busy and loud as everywhere else, they at least had somewhere to sit.

Georgia was propped up on her mother's lap, clutching her bottle between her chubby hands and watching the shoppers outside the window with wonder. The constant noise and hustle which stressed the adults only seemed to grasp hold of her attention.

"Okay, I'm excited for her first Christmas," JJ admitted, shaking her head and taking a sip of her coffee. "How could I not be?" she smiled, smoothing down Georgia's hair as the little girl's eyes grew wide at the sight of the large stuffed bear being carried past the store.

Penelope grinned triumphantly. She knew JJ's Christmas spirit had just needed to be drawn out from underneath the exterior exhaustion of being a working mother of two.

"Now, don't get mad, but I have something to give you before the big day," she told her friend, reaching into one of the bags and rummaging around for the item in question.

Georgia's gaze was drawn away from the crowds by her godmother's movements.

"I saw it and just had to buy it. I got one for Henry and it's only fair that they are treated equally."

JJ simply smiled as her friend rambled on. She had given up on passing comment on Garcia's need to spoil her children a long time ago and now accepted the gifts with thanks and a vow that Garcia would never have to buy a coffee or cup of tea for herself when they were together.

Eventually, Penelope withdrew her hands from the bag and presented a soft, pale pink Christmas stocking to her friend. It was embroidered with silver snowflakes and boasted a matching silver ribbon trim along the top edge. In the centre, the snowflakes made way for the felt letters and figures which spelled Georgia's name and marked the year.

"Thank you," JJ smiled, taking hold of the stocking and showing it to her daughter. "Look what you've got to hang up for Santa," she told the infant.

Georgia reached up with a grin, dropping her bottle as she gripped the fabric between her tiny fingers. She laughed happily as she explored the textures of the embroidery and ribbon. JJ and Penelope laughed too - it seemed that the presents the stocking would contain in just 24 days were not even needed to entertain the 10 month old girl.

/  
/

"How was the mall?" Will asked, taking his tightly bundled daughter from the arms of his flustered wife. Over the past few days it had been becoming increasingly cold outside and the layers of clothing required for the infant to be taken out of the warmth of the house had multiplied.

"There's a reason Santa prefers online shopping," she muttered under her breath as he chuckled. Their brief coffee break had been followed by another hour trailing from store to store and that was more than enough for JJ.

Will continued through to the living room before he started the process of freeing his wriggling daughter from her snowsuit and mittens.

"Penelope bought us something though," JJ's voice carried through, as she hung her coat on the peg in the hall.

"Yeah?" Will asked, absent-mindedly. He was too busy making faces at Georgia to be giving the conversation much attention.

"Yeah," JJ confirmed, without saying more.

By the time Will glanced up, she was standing in the doorway, holding up the pink stocking for him to see. They shared a grin, before he turned back to Georgia and tapped a finger against her nose.

"You're gonna be one spoiled little girl come Christmas," he told his giggling child. "Santa Claus will need to bring a lot of presents for you."

JJ laughed, thinking of the expanding stash of gifts in their attic. Somehow she didn't think there would be a problem in that department.

Even if Penelope's stocking wasn't going to be the only one hanging by the fireplace on Christmas Eve.

Chuckling again, she placed the pink stocking down with two others which had arrived in the mail that morning. Garcia might have been quick off the mark, but when it came to celebrating Georgia's first Christmas she had two long distance grandmas to compete with, and they were just that little bit faster.

And with family like that, the littlest LaMontagne would definitely be in for a treat this December.


	2. Let It Snow!

**A/N: Thank you for the response to the first chapter. The next one is more silly fluff. Enjoy.**

* * *

 ** _2nd December_**

Henry woke up to the usual sounds of his family getting ready for the day. Downstairs he could hear his mother talking to Georgia as she fed the baby her breakfast. Across the hall he could hear his father singing tunelessly in the shower. It was just like any other day but somehow, something felt different.

He reached out from under his comforter and immediately felt the chill in the air and as he rubbed his sleep filled eyes he became aware that, although it was still dark, it was somewhat brighter than normal. And that only meant one thing…

He jumped from his bed, inadvertently knocking the trio of stuffed animals, which had been selected carefully from his collection the night before, out from the warmth and across the floor. By the time he peeked through the gap in the drapes, all thoughts of the dreams he'd been dreaming were gone, in favour of something even better.

"Snow…" he gasped, a grin spreading across his face.

/  
/

In the kitchen JJ paused in her efforts to convince Georgia to eat her banana rather than throw it at Toby. Her attention was occupied by the sound of her eldest child clattering down the stairs and the many possibilities behind his urgency.

"Henry?" she called, as he jumped from the third step up and thudded onto the floor.

"Momma!" he yelled, steadying himself from the impact and continuing through to the kitchen. "It's snowing!" He grabbed the sleeve of her sweater and steered her closer to the window, with surprising strength for such a small boy. "It's snowing!" he repeated, jumping up and down on the spot.

JJ glanced outside at the snowflakes floating past the window. It couldn't have been lying more than an inch thick on the lawn in the yard, but that didn't seem to be dampening Henry's excitement.

"Will school get cancelled?" he asked, his smile expanding as far as JJ had ever seen it go. "Can we go outside and play? Can I have a snowball fight?"

"How about some breakfast first?" she reasoned, wondering how she would break it to the boy that there was barely enough snow to make a snowball, let alone to cause his school to close.

"But I can go outside after I eat?" he asked, his eyes turning wide and pleading, as he jumped up to the table and immediately grabbed a piece of toast from the plate in the centre.

"I think you might have to go to school, buddy," JJ told him, wishing she didn't have to ruin his happiness.

Henry paused for a moment, considering what his mother had told him. He stopped impatiently bouncing his leg up and down and seemed momentarily deflated. But before JJ could assure him there would be other days to play in the snow, the spark in his eyes had reignited.

"Henry, slow down," JJ chastised, as the 7 year old crammed half a slice of toast into his mouth in one go. "You'll choke if you eat like that."

Henry slowed his chewing slightly, more out of necessity than on his mother's advice, but he was in no less of a rush.

"What's goin' on in here?" Will asked, a half-smile already on his lips as he joined his family.

"..t ..'nowin'," Henry mumbled, his mouth still full of toast.

It took Will a moment to interpret his son's words, but when he did, his eyes lit up just as brightly as the boy's, and he too set about demolishing his breakfast as quickly as possible.

JJ shook her head and returned to the battle of Georgia and the banana. She had forgotten that Will made up for his limited experience of snow as a child each time there was so much as a flurry of snowflakes outside.

"Can we go out to play?" Henry asked, turning his attention to Will as he realised where he was most likely to get the response he wanted.

"Course we can," Will responded, grinning at JJ.

"Remember you need to get ready for school," JJ warned, as Henry shot out into the hall in search of his jacket. "And work," she added, when Will did the same.

From the hall came the fighting talk of two snow warriors, heading into battle.

"What are we going to do with those boys?" she asked Georgia, as the final piece of her daughter's breakfast collided with Toby's nose.

/  
/

Not more than two minutes later, with light just beginning to break the sky, the shrieks of father and son echoed around the yard. They were having to scrape the top of the walls to gather enough snow to make decent snowballs – giving Will a rather unfair advantage over his child – but that didn't seem to be putting them off.

"I got you!" Henry screamed with delight, as a handful of loose snow sprayed Will's face.

JJ watched from the kitchen door, holding a puzzled and slightly startled Georgia on her hip. She had draped a blanket around herself and her daughter to keep them warm and pulled it tighter as heavier flakes fell around them.

"Nice shot, Henry!" she called, biting her lip in a teasing smile as Will turned towards her, brushing the snow from his hair.

"Ya think?" Will responded, his arm aimed tauntingly in his wife's direction.

"I'm holding your daughter!" JJ immediately protested, preparing to move quickly. "Don't you dare!"

She stepped out into the yard, making a fatal error in her attempt to give herself more room to run. Her eyes never left Will's as he continued to advance towards her, and his grin never slipped.

"Are you usin' a baby as a human shield?" he laughed, as JJ made sure that Georgia was positioned firmly between them.

Unfortunately, she was slowly backing herself into a corner.

"Henry! Help!" JJ pleaded, already anticipating the cold hitting her skin.

Henry raced over to his parents, delighting in an opportunity to make the battle a family affair.

"Toby! Attack!" he commanded, causing them all to be distracted as the large dog rolled uselessly on the lawn, as though making his very own snow angel. To say he had never got the hang of commands further than "sit" was an understatement.

Will took his opportunity while JJ laughed at Toby shake the odd substance from his fur. And the next thing his wife felt was the sharp sting of something cold trickle down her neck.

"Right," she announced when the initial shock wore off. "Henry, take Georgia," she commanded, shedding the blanket and bundling it tightly around Georgia as she passed her into her big brother's waiting arms. With a determined smile and a warning look, she turned towards Will. "And watch Daddy scream like a little girl."

By the time daylight had fully arrived, Georgia was the only member of the family not soaking wet and freezing cold. While all their neighbours' yards remained tucked under soft white blankets, theirs had more footprints and scuff marks than remaining snow. And they had rarely been running so late since Georgia was a newborn. But the impromptu smiles brought on by thoughts of the morning remained, even after all traces of the winter morning had melted away.


	3. The Ghosts of Christmas Past

**A/N: So, it hasn't taken me long to fall behind! My aim is to catch up over the weekend and maybe have a few shorter scenes in future! Anyway, here's the next chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing and I hope you like it.**

* * *

 _ **3rd December**_

"Remind me why we need to get the decorations out now?" Will asked, as he carried a dusty cardboard box into the living room.

After setting the box down, he rubbed his hands together and blew on them to try to combat the bitter cold from his trip outside to the garage.

"Do you remember what happened the year the tree lights didn't work on Christmas Eve?" JJ asked, widening her eyes.

Will nodded slowly, withdrawing any further argument.

"And are you not a little bit more excited to get everything organised this year?" JJ continued, already delving into the box and pulling out a santa hat and placing it on her head with a grin.

Will smiled, both at the thought of how Georgia would react to all the tinsel, baubles and lights, and also to the joy it brought JJ.

"I can't wait," he agreed.

/  
/

After several trips to the garage, and a couple into the attic, Will and JJ were finally satisfied that everything had been located. In the years since Henry was born, they had accumulated more decorations and holiday themed trinkets than they knew what to do with. The array of brightly coloured baubles and garlands of artificial evergreens now spilled across the living room.

Will was taking Georgia and Toby for a walk, to keep them from making the scene any more chaotic, while Henry had taken over his role of assisting JJ.

"Momma?" he asked quietly, sidling up beside JJ, where she was untangling a string of lights in the middle of the floor.

"Just a second," JJ replied, her concentration focussed on a particularly tough knot.

Henry waited patiently, still a little uncertain if he should be showing his mother what he had found. He ran his thumb over the ceramic reindeer that edged the object in his hands.

"What is it?" JJ asked, giving up on the lights and turning her attention to her son.

"I found this," he told her, hesitantly handing the novelty frame over to her.

JJ was taken by surprise at the image before her. She hadn't even been aware that the photograph was among their Christmas decorations. It had been given to her the first year she had her own apartment to decorate for the holidays but she hadn't seen it in such a long time.

"Is that your sister?" Henry asked, as his mother stared thoughtfully at the faces in the frame.

JJ nodded, but didn't say a word. She was remembering the moment the photograph had been taken. She could feel the scratchy tinsel she held in her hands as Rosaline directed her where to hang it on the tree and hear her sister's disapproval as she got it wrong. Their parents had pulled out the camera and insisted on taking a picture to try to stop any argument blooming, and the image showed two smiling, blonde girls. What they didn't know was that the distraction was completely unnecessary. JJ had been at an age where she idolised her big sister and would have done anything to please her. Even if that meant giving her complete control of all the tinsel.

"Sorry for making you sad," Henry apologised, noticing his mother's changed expression. He wished he'd hidden the frame back in the box. He didn't fully understand his mother's reactions when her sister was mentioned, but he knew that he had to be careful and worried that he had done something he shouldn't.

"You didn't make me sad," JJ responded, shaking off the nostalgia for Christmasses she could only revisit in memory, and handing the frame back to her son. "Put it back where you found it for now," she instructed. "And then we can take a break for some hot chocolate."

Henry did as he was told, giving JJ a further moment to gather her thoughts, and by the time he returned, a smile was fixed on her face, even if there was a deep ache that wouldn't quite leave her alone.

/  
/

"Henry's askin' for a story before bed and Georgia's fussin'," Will announced, coming downstairs from where he'd been trying to settle the children for the night. "Do you want to read to them tonight?" he asked, knowing that JJ liked to make the most of the nights that she was home for bedtime stories.

JJ jumped, startled by his presence. She had been so far in her own head that she hadn't heard him come into the living room.

"Sorry, what did you say?" she apologised, immediately dropping what had been in her hands back into the nearest box. The room was now more ordered, with the decorations organised and the lights tested, ready to adorn the house when she and Will both had a weekend free from work.

"What you got there?" Will asked, frowning at her odd demeanour and nodding towards the box.

Slowly, JJ retrieved the frame and held it up for Will to see. She felt silly to be so affected by something so trivial.

"Henry found it earlier," she explained.

"So that's why you've been so quiet," he replied, crossing the room and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Pressing a kiss to his wife's head, Will smiled slightly as he took in the image in her hands.

"You both look happy," he remarked, as JJ leaned her head closer against his chest.

"We were," she agreed, with a sad smile. "I miss her at Christmas. And my dad."

"Me too," Will sighed, memories of his own childhood flooding his mind. Even years later, and particularly during the holidays, he experienced waves of grief for his father. "I wish they could've met Henry and Georgia."

It was JJ's turn to press a soft, comforting kiss to Will's temple.

"How about we share storytime tonight?" she suggested. "And tell them something a little less fictional than normal?"

He nodded and gave her a small smile, as he took the frame from her hands and placed it on a side table, no longer hidden from view.

They might have been living in the present but that didn't mean there was no place for the ghosts of Christmas past.


	4. My Grown-Up Christmas List

_**4th December**_

"Look, Georgia, Momma's home," Will grinned.

He was waiting in the hall, with a pyjama-clad Georgia in his arms, for JJ returning from work. She was late and he hoped that getting to see both children before bed might make her day a little better.

JJ shrugged off her coat and kicked off her boots, brushing some stray snowflakes from her hair.

"Hey there, my big girl," she smiled, lifting Georgia into her own arms and holding her close.

"Rough day?" Will asked.

JJ nodded.

"And it's not over. We're flying to New York in two hours," she sighed, pressing her face against Georgia's head and inhaling the scent she had been pining for all day.

Will gave her a sympathetic and understanding look.

"For how long?" he asked.

"Hopefully not more than a couple of days," she answered, as she headed through to the kitchen where she could hear Henry humming to himself. As disappointed as she was to be leaving so soon, she wanted to make the most of the short amount of time she had with her family.

"Hey, Henry," she greeted him. "What are you up to?"

Henry looked up from the sheet of paper in front of him on the table, chewing the end of his pencil thoughtfully. His appearance suggested that he was also ready for bed, but he seemed very busy.

"Writing to Santa," he told her.

JJ felt a slight panic.

"Buddy, it might be a little bit late to write to Santa now. You already sent him a letter," she reminded her son. " _And Mommy and Daddy don't have time for an amended Christmas list_ ," she thought to herself.

"It's for school," he explained. "And we've not to write about presents that we want. We have to write about things that would make the world better."

JJ stood behind him, reading the worksheet titled "My Grown-Up Christmas List". Written underneath, in Henry's most careful handwriting were his ideas.

 _No war._

 _Lots of money for everyone._

 _Peoples family not to die._

JJ smiled. Her son might have been slow to start his homework, but at least he seemed to be understanding the point of the task.

"Why can't I email Santa instead?" he asked, putting down his pencil and looking up at his mother with the expectation of a serious answer.

Or maybe he hadn't _fully_ grasped the spirit of the task.

"The Wi-fi connection at the North Pole isn't very good," Will saved, as JJ bit her lip to stifle a laugh. "Are you nearly done?" he asked.

Henry had been finding ways of distracting himself for the past hour, most irritatingly by singing the same two lines from a song he was learning for his school play, over and over again. Will's patience was starting to wane.

"I'm stuck," the boy answered, with a sigh. He had one more line to complete and was out of ideas. Or at least he had lost the motivation to come up with anything new.

"How about you think really hard about it and if you're still stuck after I've put Georgia to bed, I'll help you?" JJ suggested.

With a reluctant sigh, Henry agreed and picked his pencil back up. His parents really didn't seem to understand how unfair it was to expect him to do homework this close to Christmas.

/  
/

Despite a little excitement at her mother's arrival, Georgia went down to sleep without much fuss. JJ hovered by her crib for longer than she needed, watching her daughter rest and absorbing the image to recall during her time away.

"You're gonna need to give Henry an answer for his homework now or he'll never get to bed," Will grinned, meeting JJ just outside of Georgia's room when she had finally pulled herself away.

JJ returned his smile, albeit with a tired yawn. It had already been a long day and she would much rather be staying where she was than heading outside into cold of the second snowfall of the week. Even if that meant hours of prompting Henry to finish his homework.

"What would be on your grown-up Christmas list?" he continued as JJ glanced at her watch, groaning at the realisation she had less than twenty minutes before she had to leave again.

"World peace, more hours in a day – just the usual," she answered, flippantly.

Will laughed, taking hold of her shoulders and planting a firm kiss to the centre of her forehead.

"I know what would be top of my list," he grinned, his eyes glinting mischievously as his hands slid down to his wife's waist.

"And what would that be?" she played along.

"She'd be blonde and pretty," he started, pausing to press his mouth against hers. "And she'd be wearin' somethin' made of lace," he whispered, biting her lip. "Or maybe even nothin' at all."

JJ chuckled at the fantasy. Alone time was a distant memory these days.

"Have you been a good boy this year?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied, sounding equal parts joking and eager.

"We'll just have to see what Santa can do then," she teased, slipping out of his hold and towards the stairs.

Then she paused and glanced back at him.

"But I don't think you should be the one helping our son with his homework if that's what comes to mind," she added before returning to the kitchen and to that very task.

/  
/

"Come on, Henry, you must be able to think of something," JJ encouraged, throwing a thick sweater into her go-bag as she simultaneously prepared to leave.

"I can't," he insisted, growing grumpier and more frustrated by the second.

JJ sighed – she hated just to hand him the answers but she really had to go soon.

"You got everythin' you need?" Will asked, joining them in the room as JJ zipped up the bag.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Are you sure?"

She looked up to see the sprig of mistletoe which he was dangling above her, and with a laugh, leaned in for one more, quick kiss. She hadn't even left yet, but already she was counting the minutes until she could come home.

Henry screwed up his face in disgust, looking away from his parents' embrace. Why did they have to do that? It was bad enough that he had his homework to complete, without having to see something so gross.

Then a thought came to his mind and he picked up his pencil and scribbled an answer on the final line of his worksheet.

"I'm finished," he declared, folding the sheet of paper in half and stuffing it back into his backpack.

"What did you write?" JJ asked, looking rather sceptical.

Henry's face reverted into its previous expression at the mere thought of his answer.

"For mommies and daddies not to kiss," he replied. "That would be a present for _everyone_."


End file.
